- Khattak’s inclusion raises concerns among PML-N leaders.
- Some leaders have avoided talking to him for 15 to 16 years.
- Complaints from Punjab’s home preference in PML-N have increased.
Islamabad: Some leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have expressed reserves on the inclusion of Pervez Khattak, a former close assistant from Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI) Founder-Chairman Imran Khan, in the federal cabinet.
Speaking on PK Press Club News’ Naya Pakistan program, PML-N chief Ikhtiar Wali, said some party members were unhappy to include Khatakk, who was Minister of Defense and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the separate mandates of PTI, in the cabinet.
He revealed that due to past political differences, some PML-N leaders had refrained from speaking to Khattak in the past 15 to 16 years.
Wali also said that in PML-N, there was an increasing perception that those who homeless in Punjab often find themselves sidelined in the party.
Khattak was among more than politicians appointed to the federal office last week. The former PTI chief was appointed adviser to the Prime Minister.
Consequently, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has doubled the strength of the federal cabinet, passing the total force from 25 to 50 years, with the appointment of 12 federal ministers, nine state ministers, three advisers to the Prime Minister and four special assistants to the Prime Minister.
Khattak had withdrawn from his position in the PTI in June 2023 following the riots on May 9 and then formed his own party, PTI-Parliamentaires.
However, after a humiliating general electoral campaign in which he won none of the seats he disputed, the former Minister of Defense left his party post.
